We've all gotten them, and maybe even been duped by them... hoaxes! They've been around for a long time. With the advent of the internet, spreading the word has become all too easy. Sometimes things get a little out of hand, but it is up to us to determine what is real and what seems out of place.
I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like there is a stereotype that Grandma's forward on hoax emails a lot (this stereotype may have arisen and been bolstered by my own Grandma). Well I happen to receive emails about crazy things that are going on in this world... like the worst virus announced by CNN, or last minute photo of the World Trade Center from the observation deck. Typically they are latent with words like, "You will not believe this..." or "Please tell EVERYONE" or "You will DIE if you don't forward" (ok, maybe not that drastic).
Even though I seem to get one of these emails once or twice a week from co-workers or my grandma, I find them rather entertaining because I like to see what kind of things people come up with to circulate. Be prepared to find different entries that I get from time to time....
The most recent one I got is from my Grandma regarding thieves using your VIN to request a duplicate key from the dealership and then stealing your car. What's interesting is that apparently this is based on true events, but if you think about it, is something the average person won't need to watch out for. As the Snopes article points out, the criminals used this tactic to steal cars from used car lots. Reason being the thief first has to get your VIN from the car, then forge documents, request and obtain key, then go back to the car to steal.
This would most likely take a few days (although, I'm sure if you thought about this very issue, and wished extremely hard for it NOT to happen to you, Murphy's law might work for the thief and they will have your car in an hour or less). So, unless the criminal really has it out for you and your car, you're probably safe.
So there ya go Grandma (and other people too)... as the Mythbusters would say:
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